Boys' name · since 1906
Denzel
11,738 babies named Denzel in U.S. Social Security records since 1906, with the highest year being 1993. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,096 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,166 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,738
- born since 1906
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Denzel is the #1166 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 11,738 recorded since 1906.
Denzel has 11,738 recorded births among boys since 1906, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1166 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1906 to 2025.
- #1,096 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,166 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 11,738 born since 1906
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Denzel ranks #1,096 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,166 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 11,738 born since 1906, peaking in the 1990s.
- #1,096 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,166 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,738
- born since 1906
- 1990s
- peak decade
Denzel's 11,738 recorded births place it above 97.59% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
36 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Denzel compares
11,738 Top 8% higher than 92% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Denzel's all-time total is 32x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Denzel | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 11,738 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 864 | 34 | 22,252 |
Denzel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Denzel splits its recorded history at 1963: 92% of all births land in the more recent half, 8% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1909 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1993 peak of 864 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Denzel popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1906–2025
- Peak year (1993)
- 864
- Annual births at peak, across 120 years of records
Denzel popularity over time - girls
41 total births recorded since 1914 (Denzel as girls' name)
Denzel by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (5,453 births, 46% of the file).
1990s was Denzel's strongest decade.
5,453 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 46% of all-time use.
Denzel births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1900s 11
1900s
11 births
- 1910s 155
1910s
155 births
- 1920s 265
1920s
265 births
- 1930s 202
1930s
202 births
- 1940s 154
1940s
154 births
- 1950s 123
1950s
123 births
- 1960s 68
1960s
68 births
- 1970s 26
1970s
26 births
- 1980s 248
1980s
248 births
- 1990s
1990s
5,453 births
- 2000s 2,121
2000s
2,121 births
- 2010s 1,826
2010s
1,826 births
- 2020s 1,086
2020s
1,086 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 5,453 births (46% of all-time use).
How Denzel compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Denzel's total volume
Denzel by state
Where Denzel concentrates geographically, total births since 1906
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,198 | 10.2% |
| #2 | California | | 853 | 7.3% |
| #3 | Texas | | 831 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Florida | | 738 | 6.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 695 | 5.9% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 420 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Louisiana | | 403 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 372 | 3.2% |
1,198 of 11,738 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 36 reporting states.
Denzel appears in 36 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Denzel? ▼
Where does Denzel sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Denzel most popular? ▼
Where is Denzel most popular? ▼
How long has the name Denzel been used? ▼
What names are similar to Denzel? ▼
What to do with Denzel's data
- Denzel's decade-level peak was the 1990s (5,453 total births); usage has since declined to 1,086 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Denzels (1,198 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Denzel
Nearby Names Like Denzel
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Denzel
Compare Denzel side by side: Denzel vs Dennis Denzel vs Denis Denzel vs Denver
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Denzel
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Denzel: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1993)
Similar record span (~119 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1906–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Denzel draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.